My research largely focuses on the genetics of proper and improper craniofacial development. Specifically, I study how the neural crest, a key stem-cell population that makes the majority of the face, interacts with adjacent cell populations during this process.
While I do not study IDD's per se, craniofacial malformations are often part of a larger syndrome that includes IDD components. Highlighting this, we recently uncovered a gene, MEMO1 that is involved in mouse craniofacial development. Loss of Memo1 results in an array of craniofacial defects, including cleft palate. Since our initial discovery, MEMO1 mutations have been identified in autistic probands and MEMO1 has been shown to drive radial glial cell trafficking during neurodevelopment (PMID: 31277925). Whether or not MEMO1's cellular function is neuro- vs cranial development is shared remains to be determined.